SAP Ventures Raises US$1 Billion in One Year

October 01, 2013
| SAP - Corporate

Following Record Results in 2013, SAP Ventures Accelerates Strategy With Addition of New Direct Investment Fund and Expanded Business Development Team to Help Entrepreneurs and Start-Ups Grow, Scale and Succeed

PALO ALTO, Calif. - SAP Ventures, the independent venture capital firm affiliated with SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), today announced it has raised more than US$650 million for a new direct investment fund, SAP Ventures Fund II. Taken together with SAP HANA Real Time Fund, a US$405 million fund-of-funds that invests in early stage VC funds, SAP Ventures has added more than US$1 billion in new funds in 12 months. Inclusive of SAP Ventures Fund I, a US$353 million direct investment fund launched in 2011, the firm's total assets under management increased to more than US$1.4 billion. SAP Ventures also announced it is building out a dedicated 10-person business development team to enable its portfolio companies to easily access and leverage the unmatched capabilities and expertise of one of the world's largest enterprise ecosystems through its limited partner, SAP AG.

"SAP Ventures is an integral partner of the innovation drive and intellectual renewal happening at SAP. They are helping us build a broader ecosystem that includes some of the most innovative founders, developers and venture capitalists," said Dr. Vishal Sikka, member of the Executive Board of SAP AG. "I have been a big supporter of SAP Ventures over the years. We are proud of our commitment to their newest fund and I look forward to supporting them on their journey."

"We believe that we represent a new breed of venture capital funds. We are in a unique position of being independent and yet having unparalleled access to one of the world's largest global ecosystems of enterprise customers and partners," said Nino Marakovic, CEO and managing director, SAP Ventures. "As a result, we help entrepreneurs tap into proven approaches for customer acquisition and international expansion. They get the best of both worlds — an unmatched mix of independent funding and the relationships of an enterprise powerhouse."

To execute on its strategy, SAP Ventures is building out a dedicated, 10-person internal business development team located in the U.S., Europe and Asia — doubling the firm's overall staff and bringing the ratio of investors to service-oriented staff to 1:1. This team will work closely with portfolio companies to connect with customers, go-to-market partners and technology and industry experts in the enterprise ecosystem that can help them accelerate growth, scale and success. The goal is to give entrepreneurs and startups access to multiple strategic revenue channels available through SAP Ventures' limited partner, SAP AG, which counts more than 13,000 partners and 248,000 customers around the world.

In addition, SAP Ventures will continue to build a larger network of portfolio companies and investment experts through its fund of funds, the SAP HANA Real Time Fund. This will exponentially increase the number of connections possible for entrepreneurs in the SAP Ventures community.

About SAP Ventures
SAP Ventures, with more than US$1.4 billion under management, is an investment firm that seeks to partner with outstanding entrepreneurs and leading venture firms worldwide to build industry-leading businesses. SAP Ventures is an independent investment organization affiliated with SAP AG, the leading global enterprise software company. SAP Ventures leverages its relationship with SAP and its ecosystem for the benefit of its portfolio companies and underlying fund managers. SAP Ventures was founded in 1997 and has invested in more than 125 companies across five continents.

The firm currently manages two direct investment funds: SAP Ventures Fund I (US$353 million fund launched in 2011) and SAP Ventures Fund II (US$651 million fund launched in 2013). Both funds invest in innovative and disruptive expansion stage companies across the information technology landscape, where a proven product and business model have led to demonstrated customer growth and scaling revenues. Fund I portfolio companies include LinkedIn, Exact Target, Endeca, OpenX, Criteo, DocuSign, Fitbit and Box.

The SAP HANA Real Time Fund is a US$405 million fund of funds launched in 2012. The fund invests in early stage VC fund managers internationally as well as early stage start-ups which are focused on the development of real-time technologies that leverage the power of big data as a driver of business value.

About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 248,500 customers (includes customers from the acquisition of SuccessFactors) to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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